My Calling: Night Warriors
by Cornell Valentine Gainsborough
Summary: Second story. A Disgaea and Darkstalkers crossover I had planned for a small time. T for usual violence and language. Final chapter posted. Revised version coming soon.
1. New World

My Calling, Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Seperates Paragraphs

A/N: Here it is, quite possibly the very first Darkstalkers/Disgaea fic ever written. As it goes, this fic will mostly focus on Nelius, and his endeavor to find out more about this realm, and in turn, about himself. Since the game's storyline differs from character to character, I'm making use of Capcom's OVA, Darkstalkers Revenge, to help place a few parts of this fic, followed by an attempt at giving my OC a new storyline to work with for the events of Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3).

There's one more thing I'd like to add. Hellfire Blackheart, who has been the co-creator of my previous story, will be soon writing a side story that takes place back in the Disgaea section as this fic goes on.

Disclaimer: Disgaea's elements belong to Nippon Ichi, while Darkstalkers belongs to Capcom. Nelius, however, is my OC.

Chapter 1: New World

The blinding, twisting light of a dimensional rift seared across the darkened sky. From this thin line that seperated and severed dimensions, a blur of green reached out, slamming into the ground. As the emerald glow died down, it revealed the form of a young man with dark brown hair.

"Agh, damn it." Shaking away the feeling of dizziness, Nelius got to his feet, orange eyes surveying the area. "The air here... it's different, but.." He looked skyward. "That darkness... can't be natural." The sound of afterburners reached his ears. "What's that sound?" Turning around, but keeping his gaze on the sky, he saw a small almagation of silver statue-like machines floating across the sky.

"Lifeform detected. Executing scan of lifeform." A trio of the machines stated as they began descending toward Nelius. As they landed, a thin red slit opened where their eyes would be, as they began scanning Nelius with precision unmatched by current electronics. "Class B lifeform. Termination necessary." With this command, two of the three machines stood to Nelius' sides, forming a triangle. Electricity flowed among them, creating an electrical rope that would sizzle the opponent should they attempt to run. They began closing in.

Fortunately, Nelius was a bit smarter than that. Leaping at an angle, he flipped out of the machines' reach and slammed his left hand down on the ground, creating a rift in the ground that quickly swallowed the machines in a fiery gulp.

"Three down..." He heard the sound of afterburners again as more of the machines began appearing. "...a shitload more to go." He shook the hand that slammed the ground. "Damn, used up a bit too much for that last one, but, no time for subtlety." Two more machines flew toward him, their torsoes revealing a laser cannon. They fired upon him, the chilling blue lasers ripping through the air. Crossing his own arms in an attempt to shield himself, he noticed that the lasers should've hit by now. Imagine his surprise as he looked outward to see his own wings stretched over his body, deflecting the lasers from the machines.

'What the...' His wings glowed with a familiar energy, the same kind that Nevan had discharged into his body. A grin replaced his look of confusion. 'This might work.'

"Target possesses strong power. Proceeding to update--" A sharp, cresent shaped gale ripped across the area, slicing several of the machines into unequivalent scraps of metal. "Malfunction... breaking down..." Several of the machines exploded, and many of those that had strayed from the battle realized their futility. "Target's ability beyond units' own. Changes to attack plan necessary."

"They're retreating... for now." Nelius felt his wings moving back to where they belonged, on his back. "Looks like I've won, for now. Next thing to figure out, is where I ended up at."

**MAKAI!**

Unbeknowest to Nelius, he was being watched.

"An unorthodox manner of being... the one who created that rift."

The one who watched him was a young woman with green hair.

"He comes from another realm, but he possesses abilities strikingly similar to our own."

Her lips curled into a smile. It had been quite a while since she'd seen any excitement.

"I'll have to see this first-hand. It may be enough to satiate my boredom."

**MAKAI! **

Nelius walked along the deserted, grassless earth. For miles around, everything appeared the same.

"This reeks of demonic influence." Being a demon himself, he could easily discern the scent of demonic energy. "Someone of at least Overlord level power could've done this."

"Overlord, you say? Not the most fitting title for someone like him." He spun around to see someone standing there.

She was a young woman with long, light green hair that ran down to mid-back. She wore pink leggings that ended with thigh-high boots, arm-length gloves that ran to the back of her hands, and a leather bustier that showed off her form. What made Nelius curious, however, was the pair of bat-like wings that extended from the sides of her head.

"Hm, you're the one who caused that disturbance." She had a devilish smile on her face. "I have to thank you. It was starting to get quite boring around here."

"Oh, you're expecting a welcome?" For some reason, something about this woman set off those little klaxon warning sirens in his mind. "Just who might you be, anyway?"

"If you really must know, Morrigan Aensland, ruler of Makai."

"Ironic, I don't think we're in the demon world."

"Interestingly, as I watched your fight against those Huitzil robots, I noticed a striking similarity to her."

"Her who?" Now he was getting interested.

"A very interesting halfling succubus I met several years ago. She held a rather adamant belief in the existance of other demon worlds, and departed from this world, trying to seek out such a world. It's fair enough to say she either succeeded in her venture or died."

"Well, if your friend were still around, she'd be elated to hear a confirmation of other demon worlds existing. I'd know, coming from one myself."

"It may be in your best interests to follow me." With the wave of her hand, and some words, a portal opened up. "It's your choice." Morrigan slipped through the portal. Nelius, after a moment of consideration, followed suit, entering into an entirely different world.

**MAKAI!**

'Other worlds beyond this one...'

Multiple windows of data flashed across the screen. Another window opened up, showing a video of Nelius' entry into this world, followed by his fights against the Huitzil robots.

'And yet, I've been searching for a worthy opponent...'

The windows closed, replaced by videos of others.

'Perhaps, he is the key to what I search for.'

**MAKAI! **

This ends the first chapter of what I hope will be a successful crossover story.

As it is, there's still a lot more that can be done to expand the scope of this story, mostly due to the number of inconsistencies Capcom threw in. If you happen to know more about the series as a whole, feel free to give me a few pointers on this story.

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	2. Intervention

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Seperates Paragraphs

Chapter 2: Intervention

Nelius found himself on the outskirts of what appeared to be a town.

'Doesn't look like the main structure's too different from back home.' Walking through the streets, he took notice of the demonic inhabitants making their rounds. 'They're certainly a hell of a lot different than everyone I've seen. Still, that Aensland woman, what is she after?'

A collection of shimmering blue orbs sat together on a stand, their appearance mirroring that of liquified crystal. To those who'd never seen them before, they looked more akin to crystal balls or stationary globes of water. Intrigued by these items, Nelius couldn't help but take a look at them.

"What are these things?" He felt as though he could pick one up and stare into it...

"Hey!" A sharp voice brought Nelius out of his trance.

"Ah! Wh, what the..." The sound of hearty laughing reached his ears. "Huh?" He looked up to stare into the face of an elder demon.

"Never seen a soul before?" The demon just grinned. "Careful, they'll draw ya in if you're not careful."

"These things--" He pointed down at the spheres, "--are souls?" Again, more laughter.

"What, never seen a soul before? Where you from, anyway?"

"Long story short, I'm from out of this realm." What he failed to notice was the look on the demon's face.

"Hehe, come into the back. I might have something that'll sate your curiousity." Disappearing into the back of the stand, Nelius considered his offer for a moment before entering himself.

Entering inside of the stand, the first thing he noticed was that the inside looked a hell of a lot bigger than the outside would appear to hold. The second thing he took note of was the rows upon rows of bright souls along the sides of the room. Hell, if you'd made the insides of the stand any bigger, one would call it a soul emporium.

"You'll not be interested in those common ones, my friend." Looking toward the back of the room, Nelius saw the demon waving him over. "Back here." He cautiously followed the elder to the back. "I've seen a lot of demons and beasts come and go, but never one like you." Opening one final door, He allowed Nelius to walk in first.

"Whew... that's some strength." He could already feel the pulsation of energy as soon as the door closed.

"These souls are those of strong, powerful demons, but not all of them end up in Makai."

"This is different than what I've heard about sould back home." Noting the look of curiousity on the soul seller's face, he continued, not knowing of a certain someone who was listening in. "Back in my home dimension, most souls are usually confined into an item, which then molds itself according to the person's soul, and helps shape its fighting characteristics. But, for the souls of those who've committed pretty atrocious crimes, their fate is to become Prinnies."

"Prinnies?"

"Demonic penguins who work under extremely hard labor to make up for what they've done in their past lives. From what I've seen of them, they're basically punching bags to the rest of the demons I've met, though I have heard of one nasty soul that became even more powerful as a Prinny than what he was in life, though his name was lost to history."

"Absolutely amazing." The resounding voice of a female echoed throughout the room. A familiar character dropped down. "Things between this and your world aren't as different." She stepped into the open light geven off by the souls.

"Mistress Aensland!" The demon dropped to his knees, a sign of respect.

"You are an interesting one." Morrigan gave a smile that flared Nelius' nerves. "Yet, at the same time, you appear as though you've a lot to learn."

"What's it to you, then?" He still couldn't bring himself to trust her, not yet.

"I happen to know someone who may interest you in the finer aspects of battle."

"Hold it, how'd you--"

"Call it an instinct." Casually, she held up one of her fingers, and one of the souls floated over, balancing itself on her fingertip. Taking a closer look at it, her face changed from a look of bemusement to one of surprise. "So, she passed on after all."

"Hm?"

"Achieving her long sought-after dream, but passing on before getting a chance to see how he'd lived, and here they are, finally reunited."

'Something doesn't feel right.' A sudden snap on his wrist drew his attention. The limiter band, that helped to control the power flows that he inherited from his father's four best friends, had broken apart, and the four gems that represented Agni, Rudra, Setsuka, and Nevan, plus a stark grey one floated up, then began circling around the soul on Morrigan's finger, almost as if they were communicating. "OK, this is getting strange. Hell, this stuff I'd expect out of a Devil May Cry manga instead.' Suddenly, the soul, followed by all five gems, flew at Nelius, shoving themselves down his throat. He coughed for about two seconds, before taking a ragged breath. "That was different."

**MAKAI!**

"She still refuses to accept her fate."

A pair of bloodred eyes watched a crystal ball as it depicted Morrigan's interactions with Nelius. Outside, the sounds of fighting could be heard.

"That outside demon doesn't belong in Makai, fouling up my rightful realm with his presence. Once these annoyances are out of my way, he will be dealt with."

"Lord Demitri!" A soulless human servant approached, bowing to the Romanian Vampire before extracting two sheets of paper. "The information you requested." Taking the papers, Demitri began looking them over, a cruel grin spreading over his mouth.

'So, that is what he's capable of. This may change my plans a bit, but in the end, I still win. Time to strike.'

**MAKAI!**

"Hm, who'd've thought.." Morrigan still had her bemused expression on her face.

"Ugh, what the hell?" Nelius was still trying to regain his composure.

"It appears that soul was the halfling succubus I told you about earlier."

"Still doesn't explain why she flew down my throat. I thought succubi were supposed to absorb the souls of others, not the other way around." A crash outside, followed by the sound of several demons screaming caught the attention of both Morrigan and Nelius, and they headed outside to check up on what the commotion was about.

Floating in the air, cape fluttering about wildly...

"Demitri Maximoff." Morrigan noted. From Nelius' confused expression, she continued. "He fought against my father a century ago and was banished to the human world."

"My business is not with you, Aensland." He scowled, turning his attention to Nelius. "You, on the other hand..." He slowly lowered to the ground, their eyes never leaving each other.

Nelius could already feel Demitri's killing intent being projected toward himself.

'Shit, this guy's pretty strong. Best not to underestimate him.'

"So, you're the one who crossed over. You shouldn't have come to this world." Demitri's eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Like I had any say in that matter. Besides, I rarely give a crap about where other people tell me I should or shouldn't be."

"Those who've defied me have died. Only two have ever matched me in combat, but that will soon change."

"At least we agree on one thing." Nelius could already feel his wings extracting themselves from his back. "Better make some room on that list for a third."

The two charged toward one another.

**MAKAI!**

Next chapter will depict the battle between Demitri and Nelius.

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	3. First Battle

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Seperates Paragraphs

(Move Name) Name of Nelius' moves

A/N: This one's rather short, since I'm recovering from a cold and a minor injury. Hopefully the next one'll be a bit longer.

Chapter 3: First Battle

"Demon Cradle!"

Nelius slid beneath Demitri's diagonal spinning attack and quickly righted himself, sending a foot toward the back of the vampire's head. As it whiffed over him, the young demon used his momentum to spin into a crouch, aiming for the vampire's legs. Again, it missed, and Nelius was forced to get to his feet rather quickly.

"Chaos Flare!" A bat engulfed in flames shot forth at an extreme speed from Demitri's hands and hurtled toward Nelius, who, through either coincidence or common sense, threw his own wings upward and knocked the bat out of the way.

Demitri's eyes narrowed. This had gone on for too long. It was time to finish this fight.

'Hm, looks like Maximoff's serious about this one.' Morrigan noted as the battle began anew. 'If our little friend can't see through his defense, he won't last too long here.'

Nelius was having a hard time keeping up his own defense. Since Demitri had decided to get up close and personal, he'd noted that the vampire was focusing a lot more on battering down his defense, and he could already feel his own wings beginning to ache from all of the abuse they were taking.

'Damn it all. If this keeps up...' Seeing a hard right hook coming for his head, he quickly released his wings from their defensive position and closed the small distance between them, connecting with a left fist to the vampire's side, then immediately followed with an uppercut to the chin that sent him flying straight upward. Nelius jumped upward, using a backflip to kick Demitri a few meters away. (Triple Strike)

The lord of vampires felt the effects of Nelius' attack, but quickly shook them off.

"So, you do have some fight in you."

"Better believe it, fangface. I don't go down without a fight."

"You are unworthy to be my opponent. DEMON BILLION!" With that, Demitri transformed his body into a swarm of fiery bats and sent them flying at Nelius.

"Not happening, you blood-sucking freak!" Backflipping out of Demitri's reach, he made a small landing about three meters away before flipping into the air again, charging energy into his cupped hands. Once he had a sufficient amount, he thrusted his hands in the direction of the reforming vampire as a beam of iradescent energy slammed down on Demitri before causing a widescale explosion. (Lion's Roar)

As Nelius landed a small way away, the dust from his previous attack had settled out, revealing Demitri, who'd changed back into his "human" form. Some of his cape was in tatters, and most of his clothing had suffered some burns. The two shot each other a glare.

"You'll pay for this insolence." Dashing forward with an ungodly speed, becoming near invisible as he spun into another Demon Cradle, but what had happened next suprised quite a few people.

Waiting until just the last second before the attack connected, Nelius threw himself backwards onto the ground and, using his legs, launched Demitri into the air, then used his own arms to launch himself upward to initiate a lightning-fast series of attacks on the defenssless vampire before throwing him back down to the ground at several hundred miles per second. Demitri's landing left an impact crater, which was then widened by an explosive foot strike from Nelius. (King of Beasts)

As Nelius landed a few feet away, Demitri immediately flew out of the crater.

'Thrice now, that filthy outsider had the audacity to strike me.' His own bloodlust was growing. 'He will learn to respect the new king of Makai!' He was prepared to strike again, but something interrupted the fight.

"Master Demitri." A soul bat flew down, dispersing into a small sheet of paper. "One who calls himself the Bane of Darkness has challenged you, sire."

"Hmph." He turned his attention to Nelius. "This will be resolved later, boy." Throwing up his own gate, he stepped through back to his castle.

"I-is he gone?" Almost instantly, upon seeing that the vampire had departed, the demons who'd witnessed Demitri's descent into Makai came out of hiding and resumed business as though nothing ever happened.

"Yep, definitely like back home. Nothing gets these guys down." Nelius couldn't help but be a bit humored at how quickly the demons began setting up shop after the battle blew over.

"You've got some potential, to be able to see through and counter Maximoff's attacks." Nelius turned his attention to Morrigan. "You mught just have what it takes to become a Darkstalker."

"Darkstalker?"

**MAKAI!**

"Sorry, haven't seen that kid."

"Nope, haven't seen him."

Back at Nelius' home netherworld, the search was still going strong as William had reached the Dimensional Port, and was searching around for any clues as to Nelius' wherabouts.

'Damn, three days and nothing to show for it. Still, it puzzles me as to why Sirea wants that kid so damn badly. I never noticed anything remarkable about him, but it's not like I can just go up to her and ask what the hell's going on.'

The search continues on. Too bad he hasn't thought about checking the security footage yet.

**MAKAI!**

Until Next Chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	4. Lesson in Battle

My Calling: Night Warriors

Authro: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Seperates Paragraphs

Chapter 4: Lesson in battle

"Darkstalker?" Nelius had never heard of this term before.

"The name for those who rule the night. A term given to us by the humans." Morrigan outlined the definition.

"Doesn't sound like they get along well with demons around here."

"It can't be helped, really. Though, one thing that interests me is those wings of yours."

"What about them?"

"Yours show to have the exact same ability as mine and most other demons here."

"So they can block attacks, so what? Once they start transforming into other things, then I think I'll be impressed."

"Hmm. If what I'm thinking is correct, your wings may be able to do so."

"You serious?"

"Right this way." Without warning, she lifted upward and began flying. Nelius followed suit. Within a few scant minutes of flying, the two reached the Aensland's Castle. "Wait for me on the roof. I'll be up shortly." As he ascended to the castle roof, Morrigan decided to drop down and head into the castle instead. 'This should be interesting.'

"Another trip to the human world, Lady Aensland? And with Maximoff coming so close.." The endless chatter of several of her servants was silenced with the raising of one of her hands.

"Let's just say I found something.. or rather, someone who could prove to be a valuable asset to us." That sentence alone caught the attention of everyone present. "He managed to hold his own against Maximoff, though his battle form is rather rough. Even more interesting, that soul..."

"Wait a moment. You mean to tell us that some random kid off the streets of the human realm somehow got strong enough to tie off against Maximoff?" An incubus knight, standing about 7 feet tall, decked out in battle armor, couldn't believe such a statement.

"Oh, but he's no human. I ventured off to the human world to investigate that strange power burst I felt. Imagine the surprise when I found out at the center of it all is a young demon child."

"Hmph. And just where is this demon child?"

"Upstairs, on the castle roof." The incubus knight headed for the stairs and ascended through the many levels of the castle.

"Lady Aensland, are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry, that child is something different. He has a calculating look in his eyes, one that I haven't seen since the disappearance of Kreutz."

**MAKAI! **

Nelius, still waiting on the roof of the castle, had begun to let his mind wander over the recent events.

So far, after finding a weird green gemstone-- it was still in his pocket, by the way-- he was suddenly catapulted across the cosmos to land in an isolated demon world that was going through a tough time with its accompanying human world. He could almost laugh on the irony of it all, as what was happening here was nearly identical to how the netherworlds he knew had first interacted with their respective human worlds. Now, he had to figure out how he was going to travel back to his own side of the cosmos.

He already knew that, even after rejoining with the other half of his soul, he wouldn't be strong enough to directly open a rift from here to his world. Besides, even if he did become powerful enough to open up transportation rifts, traveling to the nearby human world, or even to a neighboring netherworld, required a substantial amount of mana energy to pull off. Trying to create one that would safely get him back to the netherworld he called home would require virtually the same amount, if not more, of mana energy usually needed to _construct_ a netherworld.

'Essentially, I'm screwed for the moment.' Such words couldn't have fitted his situation more perfectly. 'Still, where did that woman, Aensland, run off to?' Feeling bored, he held up a gauntlet-covered hand, and watched as a deep purple bolt of pure mana danced between his fingertips.

Behind you

Nelius, feeling a bit disoriented at hearing another voice within his mind, turned around in time to receive a big fist to the face. He was sent sprawling across the roof, but turned his tumble into a flip and landed on his feet.

"Not bad, for one so young." The fist dissipated into the form of many bats, coming to rest behind a behemoth of a demon as a set of wings. "Normally, most wouldn't be able to recover so quickly."

"And just who the hell are you?" While he wasn't bleeding, that surprise attack did hurt.

"I am Goros, one among the line of Incubi knights who protect the Aensland line. I have to admit, I was surprised, and rather skeptical, to hear of a demon child who could hold off a demon like Maximoff."

"Well, it wasn't too hard to see through his attacks. He pretty much leaves himself open."

"Either way, show me the form that held off Demitri!"

Rushing forward, spear poised, he thrusted it forward, hoping to impale Nelius, who, in turn, jumped backwards a few feet, out of the spear's reach, and charged energy in his right fist. Breaking into a short run, Nelius threw the punch at the incubus, who, stepping to the side of the attack, morphed his wings into a pair of hands and grabbed the younger demon, and flung him off the roof edge.

"That was far too easy. Perhaps Maximoff... what the?" From the eastern side, Nelius, with transformed wings of his own, flung himself back onto the roof, and in one fluid motion delivered a Netherburst-charged headbutt to the incubus, hard enough to place a dent in the helmet. "Agh!" Staggering backwards, he looked up at the younger demon, whose wings had reverted back to their original state. "He too, is an Incubus? Lady Aensland never said anything about this!"

'Wait a second.' Nelius looked to his wings, which had just reverted back to their original state. 'Morrigan said something about my wings being able to change form. Question is, how'd I do that?'

"So, you too possess a power like ours." Goros shook off the dizziness from Nelius' headbutt.

"What good is it if I can't make use of it yet?" To this, the incubus knight began laughing. "What's so humorous?"

"It's a matter of willpower, young demon." Holding out an arm and a wing, he began morphing the wing into several different forms, from a drill arm to a scythe, and inbetween each transformation, bats were released and reformed into each transformed state. "Many denizens of Makai are able to perform this, but very few ever truly learn how to harness it."

"A matter of will, huh?" Nelius' mind was set abuzz.

"The will to live, and battle. Many creatures of Makai live for the sheer thrill of the fight, staking their lives against one another."

"Hehe, guess there's not much difference between Makai and the demon worlds I've come to know." Feeling that icy sensation flow through his wings again, he couldn't help but grin.

"Now that you know, now we battle in earnest!" Again, the two demons charged at one another. The incubus knight was strong, hardened from many years of battle, but it was Nelius' lithe, quick form that helped to gain standing ground against the knight. A mass of limbs and wings clashed and whiffed past one another as the two sought to battle it out, fueling their ever growing thirst for a good battle.

"Now, I begin to see how you managed to hold off Maximoff." The two were in a stalemate, the knight's spear locked in place with Nelius' hardened wings, which had crossed in front of his body to hold the spear in place.

"I could tell he was itching to go another round, but someone else challenged him." Breaking the stalemate, Nelius attempted to use one of his wings as a club to dent the armor of the knight, but it was held off by one of the knight's own wings.

"All right, you two. That's quite enough." Unbeknowest to either combatant, Morrigan had been there, watching the whole battle. "I have to say, you learn quickly, young one. I haven't any doubt in my mind now about the fate of that soul." The two of them released each other from the standoff. "Goros, I wish to speak to this one alone."

"By your leave." Giving a faint bow as a sign of repsect, he made his way down to the castle foyer. With the incubus knight gone, Morrigan turned her attention to Nelius.

"You may just be able to help me with something that's been pulling at the back of my mind for a while now."

"And that would be..."

"In the human world, I've been noticing something odd going on."

"Aside from the numerous machines that seem hellbent on killing anything that moves?"

"About those machines... During a battle I had with Demitri a few days prior, several of those machines began to attack us. Call it coincidence, but those machines may be attracted to powerful souls."

"Right... so, what are you wanting me to do?"

"In the human world may lie the answer as to why these machines have awakened. I happen to have a few leads as to some information on them." She held up a hand, opening up a portal to the human world. "I'll find you once I have the information." Though apprehensive about her intentions, Nelius stepped through the portal.

**MAKAI! **

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	5. Taste of Darkness

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Seperates Chapters

Chapter 5: Taste of Darkness

Within an alleyway of the human world, an alleycat's dinner of scraps of who knows what from a nearby garbage can was interrupted with the flash and glow of a transfer portal opening up. With an angry hiss, the cat scurried off as Nelius emerged from the portal. Taking a quick look out to the street, noticing a lack of people, he stepped out of the alley and began walking around the city.

'Hn, something about this town doesn't feel right.' Hearing the sound of momentous cheering, he rounded a corner to see an insane throng of people waiting around a concert hall. A few seconds later, a convertible drove up, and out stepped a man.

He stood about as tall as Nelius did, clothed in a leather jacket and jeans fashioned with metal studs, the right leg of the pants bearing the Union Jack symbol. Guitar case slung over his shoulder, he flashed a charismatic grin to the people.

"How's it goin, mates? You want a real show, show me the freakin' money, and come on in!"

Just moments after the rock star entered the concert hall, Nelius had noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye, but didn't get much of a chance to investigate, as the sound of a gunshot caught the attention of the people there, throwing them into a frenzied panic. As he was shoved and jostled around, he could see several humans adorned in brown robes filtering into the hall amidst the confusion.

'That explains it.' Backing away from the frenzied mob, he slipped into the nearby alleyway. Noticing a window several feet above him, he took a leap upward and swung into the open window. From there, he made his way inside and onto the rafters overlooking the concert hall itself where, down below, the man from earlier was getting ready to start the concert.

"Are you ready to rock!!" Eerie silence filled the hall, as the humans in the hall weren't here to enjoy the show. "Bloody hell, this crowd's so dead it's starting t' attract flies. Bad smell." He happened to notice several of the armaments they were carrying. "Garlic... silver bullets... that crap don' affect me none." Several jets of flame quickly changed his mind. "Now, flamethrowers, on the other hand... Fine by me, looks like it's time to roast or be roasted." With a strum of his guitar, his disguise began peeling away to reveal hollowed out eyes, clawed feet, and a giant chest cavity that revealed rows of sharpened rib bones.

The cloaked men wasted no time in going on the attack. Flamethrowers armed, they began taking shots at the ghoul, who managed to dodge and weave through each incoming blast of fire, though one shot had knocked his guitar away.

Close nearby, a white-furred catwoman with blue hair had managed to knock down two of the cloaked men, but her movement seemed slow and tired.

"There's another of them! Burn it!" Almost immediately, several more humans turned their flamethrowers toward her.

"You OK over there?" That momentary distraction was all that was needed for a flamethrower blast to light the ghoul ablaze with a scream.

Nelius had seen enough to know it was time to take action. Gripping the railing of the rafter, he hoisted himself over the edge and dropped down into the small crowd of humans who'd turned their attention to the catwoman, who was now lying prone on the ground. Using a burst of wind, he landed on the ground, creating an updraft that sent the humans flying upward, then thrusted his fist outward creating another gust that sent them flying into another group.

"Who the hell?"

"He's in with them. Get him!" Most of the nearby people turned their attention toward Nelius.

"No mercy for kids, women or furry animals, is that it?" Almost immediately, the ghoul, Lord Raptor, leapt from the flames, his own power flowing. "For humans, you sure got some nasty habits in dark arts." He began to grin. "I like it! When it comes to feasting on souls, I always did prefer dark meat. Here I come, baby!" Seeing that their weapons hadn't any effect on him, they turned tail and ran... or, tried to run, except that Raptor had leapt from his place on stage to the exit.

"Aw, show ain't over yet. Don't you want to buy a T-shirt?!" Rotating his legs at high speeds, he began circulating electrical energy around himself in the shape of a skull. Multiple bolts struck out at the humans, draining them of their souls, causing them to fall over dead. Raptor jumped back to his place on stage, reclaming his fallen guitar.

"Hehe, whaddya say, kittycat, kiddo? You want me to save you a couple of souls?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not much for organized religion."

"I think I'd get heartburn."

"Hehe, I'm kinda nondenominational meself!"

**MAKAI!**

"There goes another one."

Hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck, Nelius saw the scale of destruction created by the "Dark Ones" or "Darkstalkers", as most people called the demons of Makai. Cities were leveled, buildings still smoking from the various powers that the demons possessed. All across the scenes, many human corpses were seen, slashed, torn open, or completely destroyed.

'Yeah, definitely like how I heard of demons and humans first meeting back in my home dimension.' Far off, Nelius could see the remains of a few structures that managed to survive the onslaughts of the demons. 'But, hell, things are much worse off here than how back home used to be all those years ago.' It was his mentioning of back home that got him to remember what his original mission was. Regardless of what was happening here, he needed to become stronger and return home.

The truck unexpectedly stopped, tossing Nelius around. Standing up to get a better look as to why they'd stopped, he saw an enormous fissure emanating from one side of the road to the other. The bodies of several hundred demons littered the area, random bodies suggesting their deaths by fire, ice, electricity, and some unknown kind of force.

**MAKAI! **

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	6. Intrigue

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"_Demon Language_"

**MAKAI!** Separates Paragraphs

Chapter 6: Intrigue

Inside the darkness of the numerous crevasses that criss-crossed the land, small numbers of demons were lying in wait for their next meal. Sensing movement, the larger, stronger demons scrambled out of their hiding spots… only to receive a gauntlet-covered fist to their faces. Undaunted by this, they went on the attack again, and promptly found themselves missing a couple of limbs.

Nelius, having gone off on his own, not wanting to reveal himself as a demon, morphed one of his wings into a guillotine blade and launched it at a group of the demons, slashing many of them at the waist. Two demons attempted to attack him from behind but found themselves impaled on his other wing.

'Little bastards are everywhere.' He brought a hand down, slamming the head of another demon into the dirt. 'Alone, they're less than nothing, but in numbers like this…' Recalling his wings, he darted out of the way of another demon's attack, brought his hands up, and slammed them into the ground, creating another flame rift in the ground. Much like the Huitzils, they were swallowed up by the fiery earth and burned alive.

"_Brothers, retreat! This one is beyond our power!_" The other demons, seeing the futility of taking action against him, decided to turn tail and run.

"Looks like they've backed off, for now." The imminent danger passed, Nelius resumed his trek.

He'd hoped to find a structurally intact city, but no matter where he went, most of the small towns he'd seen were largely destroyed. Around each town, though, he kept finding remains of demons, the same damage marks caused by fire, ice or electricity all over their bodies. 'It's all the same. Whoever it was that came through here, he or she must be pretty strong.'

_Clank!_ Something metallic sounded from beneath his shoe.

'Hm?' Looking down, Nelius noticed the slashed and broken remains of weaponry. It looked like whoever came through here had one hell of a fight, and he must've brought a few friends along, as he took notice of several human and demon bodies on the ground. From the looks of pure terror etched upon their faces of both man and demon, something took them out mercilessly. The stench of blood was quite heavy around this area, and Nelius was having a tough time keeping his thoughts straight.

**MAKAI! **

'_So, another has come. I may have missed my chance with the previous one, but this one shall not escape me._'

A sharpened katana, embedded in its sheath, flew over to what could be described as a suit of samurai armor, but this armor had something resembling a face on its torso.

'_These fools who tried to possess me are far too weak. Their blood lacks what I need to become animated again. But this one…_'

**MAKAI! **

"Hey, what's that?"

Near a cliff, a suit of armor sat overlooking the area. Strangely, it appeared to have a demonic face on its torso.

'_Come closer…_'

There appeared to be some kind of pulse emanating from this armor.

'_NOW!_'

A blade could be heard unsheathing itself, and Nelius turned toward the source of the noise, only to just roll out of harm's way as the blade flew straight at him.

"The crispy shit was that?" The blade circled around for another attack, and was repelled by Nelius' hand.

"Hn, you may be stronger than those fools who dared to possess me."

"Wha—AGH!" Distracted by the voice, Nelius turned around, only to have his arm sharply impaled by the blade. Seemingly having a mind of its own, it twisted around, slicing through muscle tissue and bone until it was yanked out and tossed away, at which point it hovered over to the armor.

"Hmm, delicious. The blood of an intelligent dark one." The armor began hovering in the air as ghostly limbs appeared to, in a sense, hold everything together. As the "eyes" of the armor glowed, a human face appeared beneath the helmet. "I require more." Blade in hand, the ghostly samurai leapt over to Nelius, intent on cleaving the young demon in two.

Flipping away, Nelius was hard-pressed to avoid the samurai's attacks, which were becoming more and more focused by the minute.

'Damn it all. If this keeps up, he'll cleave me into pieces. I need something to—WHOA!' Rolling backwards to avoid a slash, his hands skittered over the ground, trying to find something intact that could stand up to the sharpened demon blade. In his right hand, he brought up, of all things, an axe, which managed to hold up surprisingly well against the sword.

"Hn, daring to cross blades with me? I thought you'd be smarter than this."

"Just wait, I'm full of surprises!" Breaking off the stalemate, Nelius jumped a few feet away, then threw the axe toward the samurai. As expected, the samurai deflected the axe, but _unexpectedly_, Nelius jumped up high, catching the axe, now intent on slicing his opponent.

The samurai in red, Bishamon, looked up in time to get a faceful of axe blade. The helmet was shoved through the neck of the armor. With the "head" out of commission, the face on the armor's torso became animate. Taking up his sword, Kien, once more, the battle raged on into the morning hours…

'Wait a second, it's been nothing but dark ever since I arrived, and from what Morrigan told me, the darkened sky was all Demitri's doing. How is the sun coming up?"

Sunlight, or something remarkably similar, began spilling over the battlefield, illuminating both fighters. One of them, however, didn't take it too well.

"_Agh! This accursed light! Who would reintroduce such a horrid light upon this land?!_" Bishamon was having a hard time adjusting to the sudden reintroduction of the light.

Seeing this as a prime opportunity, Nelius drove the axe through the eyes of the armor, causing it to stumble around in blind pain.

"Time to end this." Tossing the axe straight up, the demon charged in with the Tiger Charge maneuver, appearing behind the samurai, then quickly flipped onto his hands, using his legs to propel Bishamon into the air, where he performed the King of Beasts aerial combo maneuver. Upon throwing him to the ground, the finisher, a vicious diving kick, was aimed at the armor's teeth.

_CRACK!!_ With the force of a near atmospheric reentry, Nelius' foot shattered the teeth on Bishamon's armor, causing the armor to fall silent once more. With one hand to the air, he caught the axe.

"Jeez, what a pain." Turning to leave, he'd scarcely had the chance to take notice of a figure rising from the armor.

"Now, I can finish what I once started, thanks to you."

**MAKAI! **

"That's not natural."

A gigantic sun, or at least some kind of a representation of one, was plowing through a local village, shooting off fireballs in every direction, burning humans to a crisp. Those lucky enough to survive were hauling major ass out of the town. One such fireball was headed in Nelius' direction, also where a fairly good sized group of people.

"Ah, hell no!" Pushing his way to the front of the crowd (or perhaps they retreated), he thrusted his hand forward, creating a force blast that stopped the trajectory of the fireball. With his other hand, he redirected the blast upward, carrying with it the ball of fire.

"Sis, you see that?"

"Yeah. He has the dark's power, but he chooses another path. Just like…"

"We'd best keep one eye on him."

**MAKAI!**

Until Next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	7. Descent of Pyron

My Calling: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Separates Paragraphs

Chapter 7: Descent of Pyron

Inside of an ancient pyramid, data began streaming across screens and monitors.

"Subject one: Classification, Vampire. Subject demonstrates highest overall power." A video of Demitri Maximoff's battles against the Huitzil was overlaying the information.

"Subject two: Classification, Succubus." A second screen displayed Morrigan Aensland's fights against the machines. "Subject displays abilities of great interest."

Subjects three and four: Classifications, unknown." The third screen displayed a split of a young demon and a vampire hunter. "Subjects appear to be equal in power, but differ in abilities." The demon was using his axe in a fashion similar to a boomerang, slicing through many of the robots, while the vampire hunter was channeling an electrical spirit through his sentient sword, mowing down rows upon rows of the Huitzil.

"All subjects have one possible goal: the destruction of Pyron!"

**MAKAI! **

The miniature suns, sentries of an unknown force, circled the world, seemingly searching out an unseen enemy. The humans, powerless in the face of this new threat, had no choice but to abandon their homes and flee to parts unknown, hoping to avoid any further wrath of these fiery sentries.

Already, large masses of people were gathered at the waterside, waiting to board one of the many ships that awaited them.

'What could those things be seeking?' Already, news was coming in from around the world, that where these suns had traveled, disaster followed in their wake, but, at four of the scenes where the suns had traveled, there appeared to have been evidence of some kind of battle taking place.

Near Canada, much of the polar ice shelf had been melted away and broken, and to further describe the situation, the water, normally freezing in temperature, had turned disturbingly warm.

In Egypt, the great pyramids of a once mighty pharaoh had been defaced by some type of heat, no doubt the work of the suns, but what would explain the still burning pieces of ceremonial mummy wrap lying around?

In the heart of the Amazonian Jungle, the lush, inviting rainforest was now marred by scorchmarks, the wildlife thoroughly burned.

Finally, in Germany, at the castle of the late Professor Victor von Gerdenheim, the frightening structure had taken on even worse wear and tear, as large amounts of heat had melted the stone foundation, causing much of the castle to begin crumbling.

It was the fifth sun, casting a glow on the horizon as it situated itself in the middle of a city, which these people were fleeing from. Those who were running away from it never seemed to notice three people were heading toward it, nor would they ever know two among their crowd were about to follow as well.

**MAKAI! **

Outside the Castle Zeltzereich, the fifth of the suns stood patiently outside, lighting up the darkened Earth. From its face, a ball of energy descended, before forming into a humanoid shape, its glowing physique rivaling that of the Olympian Gods. The alien tyrant, Pyron, who had consumed many planets before this one, was ready to battle.

From the window of the castle, a flock of bats dashed out an upper window, gathering in a group to form the vampire Demitri Maximoff.

No words were exchanged as the two began their fight. Demitri went on the offensive, curling his cape around his feet into a drill-like protrusion, intent on spearing the cosmic alien. Pyron shielded himself in a shell of cosmic energy, deflecting the cape drill. Undaunted, the vampire pounded away, breaking the defensive barrier with an overhead blow, then transforming into his demonic form and launching the Demon Billion at the alien.

Dodging in-between the bat-shaped projectiles, Pyron curled into a fiery wheel, launching himself at Pyron before shifting into a sharp, fiery tornado. The demonic vampire curled his wings around himself, blocking the blow before forcefully unfurling them, knocking the alien tyrant off balance. With a strong right hook, Demitri punched Pyron, then stabbed the tyrant through his right pectoral with his left hand curled into a stabbing point.

It had been a foolish move. Over the course of two hundred million years, Pyron had evolved past the point of a physical body, and as such was unaffected by Demitri's action. With a demented grin on his face, Pyron encased the both of them in a shell of energy before teleporting to the roof of one of the abandoned houses to continue the battle.

Even while in his human form, Demitri refused to let this alien defeat him, not after his humiliating defeat at the hand of Belial Aensland, and then a century of rebuilding his power. He dodged Pyron's blazing wheel, only to be grabbed by his foot and repeatedly smashed into the roof. The vampire regained his footing, only to barely defend a projectile fireball.

"The Huitzil tell me you are the most powerful opponent this planet has to offer. Was this a mere mistake?" Pyron stared down at the nearly defeated vampire.

"The mistake is to underestimate the power of the Demon World!" With a flying leap, Demitri tried another right hook, only to have his opponent teleport to a small distance behind him.

"Power of the Demon World?" For some reason, this statement left him with a feeling of excitement, which degenerated into disappointment. "This so called power is nothing against my own. Mine is but the strongest in the known universe!" Raising one hand, he created blue spheres of incredible energy, the Cosmic Disruption. Demitri had attempted to flee, but the spheres flew a small distance ahead of the vampire before exploding, coating Demitri's body in fiery plasmic energy. Summoning more spheres, he commanded them to crash into the vampire, which in turn caused Demitri to crash into the pillar of stone that supported his castle. The force cracked the stone so deeply, it caused the entire castle to come toppling down on its side.

Demitri Maximoff was defeated.

"Was this truly the best this world, this Earth, has to offer? Am I to be disappointed yet again!"

**MAKAI! **

Nelius couldn't believe his eyes.

Demitri Maximoff, easily one of the most powerful nobles of the Demon World, was defeated. And now, whoever it was that defeated him was dispatching the arriving Huitzil.

Those powers… if he could obtain a power like that, maybe his own mission would've been completed long ago. But, how much longer would it take before he could gain such a power?

The answer to such a question would have to come much later.

**MAKAI! **

I do apologize for how long this chapter has taken. Quite recently, I've had to battle with an upset stomach, and I couldn't sit still long enough to finish this chapter.

Hopefully, I'm looking at the next chapter being the end of the Pyron Arc, and the one afterwards being the start of the events of Vampire Savior.

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	8. End of a Tyrant

My Calling: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Separates Chapters

Chapter 8: End of a Tyrant

The feel of battle, two warriors locked in combat, both struggling with all their might to defeat the other before they themselves are beaten.

Such was the case here, but instead, three fighters were locked in combat.

On one side, Pyron, encased in his shell of energy, repelled a set of metallic claws attached by a chain.

On the other side, a young woman with blue-tinted skin, dressed in a Manchurian burial robe, retracted the claws back into the sleeves of her outfit while her sister, a brunette dressed in yellow oriental robes, charged in with a blade, swiping away at the alien. The pair alternated attacks; when one finished her attack, the other would step in.

"Sis, get back!" The one with blue skin ordered. "Here goes!" Slamming her metal claws into the ground, blades adorned with Chinese letters began rising from the ground, almost in a shockwave motion.

Thoroughly unimpressed by this show, Pyron leveled a blast of energy at the ground, tearing up the stone floor of the Coliseum, sending chunks of stone and metal toward the young woman, who was sent flying backwards.

"Hsien-ko!" Hsien-ko's sister, Mei-Ling, caught her. "Are you all right?" No external wounds were seen, but that blast's contents could've easily killed her.

"Damn it, he's strong." Hsien-ko tried to stand, but a bit of debris from Pyron's attack had done some damage to her left leg. "Sis, what're we gonna do? None of our attacks are getting through." If such an answer was available, it was taking a long time to come to them, as Pyron was getting ready to attack again. Without warning, the spheres of the Cosmic Disruption had been formed, and their targets were the sisters whose attacks were ineffective. Mei-Ling remembered this maneuver, the blasts had a level of sentience, and even if she had the strength to both carry her sister and jump away from the attack, the spheres would still follow. Options were at a premium, but time was running extremely short, as the spheres were quickly closing in.

All at once, a pair of leathery wings, coated in a violet energy, covered the pair a mere moment before Pyron's attack would've made contact. Tracing them back to their source, the pair saw a young man about a meter behind them, his arms crossed in an X formation over his chest as the wings shielded them.

"You may want to move." Nelius advised them. Even though his wings were strengthened by the Star mana, he wouldn't be able to hold his defense up for too long. Taking his advice, Mei-Ling scooped her sister up in her arms and took a leap to a higher stand. Nelius quickly dropped his guard and backflipped away, letting the attack crash into the wall.

"No wonder this guy killed Demitri." Shaking his wings to remove the sting from the attack, he was trying to from a strategy, _trying_ being the key word.

"Anita!" Mei-Ling recognized the little girl that was walking into the center of the arena. Hsien-ko had taken a moment to shout to her, as well. "Anita, don't do it! Get away!"

To this young girl with violet eyes, only one name had come to her…

"Donovan!"

**MAKAI! **

Blade clashed against energy shell, as Donovan commanded the blade to attack. Even as his blade circled Pyron and struck out at random intervals, he attacked as well, but like all the others, his offense was lacking in one critical point.

"Something's wrong. He's got nothing following his strikes." Nelius was carefully watching as Donovan fought Pyron. "Why is he holding back?"

"His own self doubt robs him of what would be his strength." Donovan tried to defend against one of Pyron's punches, but his large prayer beads were shattered, and the punch connected with his gut, causing the vampire hunter to cough up blood. "Half of his blood is that of the Dark. His failure to accept that part of himself drains away what would otherwise be his power."

"He better get it together, and fast, otherwise there won't be anything left of him to accept!"

Donovan was forced against the wall, his lower chest and back bleeding heavily.

"Enough. What sport can there be in so pathetic an opponent?" Pyron had taken to alternating left and right uppercuts across Donovan's face. "So please, disappear from my sight!" Launching what could be considered a miniature sun at the dhampir, he placed enough force behind to send his opponent crashing through the stone stands, rapidly flying upward, spilling his own blood everywhere, until he came to a stop with a sickening plop, crashing against a pillar, then falling onto his bloodied back.

First Demitri, now Donovan… Nelius was seriously beginning to think his chances of defeating Pyron were desperately slim. What chance did he have fighting back against, let alone defeating the being that already defeated someone easily more powerful than he was?

'Wait, what the hell am I thinking?' He shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts. He left his home netherworld with a mission: to become stronger in both body and mind, and to defeat his former boss. He couldn't let himself fall prey to the same trap Donovan had already fallen to. To just allow himself to fall into this trap would've been an insult, not only to everything he'd accomplished so far, but to himself as well.

Refocusing himself, his left hand went to his back, clutching the handle of his axe. Drawing it out, he allowed his wings to spread before he took a leap, soaring down toward the alien tyrant, orange burgundy eyes focused on the alien.

"It's time to do or die!" With the wind roaring in his ears, Nelius brought the axe across in a sweeping motion, slicing the tyrant in half. Touching ground, he turned around to see if it had worked.

Pyron couldn't help but laugh as his body reformed.

"You think that two-bit piece of metal had a chance of defeating me?" To this, Nelius couldn't help but chuckle. "I take it you find something so humorous!"

"Take a closer look at where I slashed you." Upon closer inspection, one could see a thin line of energy right where he'd slashed. "Donovan's fight against you got me thinking, and it was that fight which gave me a crazy, but viable idea."

"So, you think you've a ghost of a chance to defeat the perfect being!" Throwing his hands up, a ball of cosmic energy, the Sol Smasher, flew from his fingertips toward the young demon. In retaliation, Nelius brought his axe up, and sliced the projectile in half.

"Your evolution allowed you to circumvent the limitations and weaknesses of many physical bodies, but your nature as a being of energy created another weakness, and that is what keeps you from being, as you call it, perfect."

"Be quiet, you whelp of a demon! Be silent, and plague Pyron no more!" Enraged by the mere thought of being called imperfect, Pyron created the spheres of the Cosmic Disruption, and launched them toward the young demon.

Opening his wings, Nelius fired off shots from the insides of his wings, each shot canceling out Pyron's offensive.

"At first, I'd thought Donovan hadn't the power to effectively strike against you, but I was proved wrong, seeing some of his other fights." The shots from both fighters kicked up dust, which Pyron used to launch an attack, flying through the dust to launch an attack. Nelius dodged two punches, and flipped over the third punch, letting the back end of his axe slice across the cosmic being's back, leaving behind another mark. "It wasn't power he lacked, it was the effectiveness needed to break your defense." Pyron threw a backblow punch and the demon backflipped away. Again, the axe came up, and sliced Pyron against the arm, leaving a third mark. "It's your cosmic nature, that both strengthens you and creates your weakness."

"Be silent, demon!" Changing into a fiery tornado, the Orbital Blaze, the cosmic being tore up the ground in a bid to attack Nelius.

"Let's take this up, shall we?" Using a wing to deflect the attack, Nelius broke off and took a leap into the sky. 'Now, I need to finish this. As amusing as this is, I can't keep this up too much longer.' Not too much longer, Pyron had teleported up to him, ready to finish the battle.

"You claim that I have a weakness, yet you seem hesitant to make use of it. Perhaps you were bluffing in an attempt to extend your own life? How pathetic of you, now allow me to snuff out that flickering light in your body!" Pyron reared a hand back…

'NOW!' A voice in Nelius' head told him to act. Tossing the axe above Pyron, he tightened his gauntlet weapons, then dashed toward Pyron, leaving behind a number of hazy afterimages in a conical shape, the Tiger Charge, version 2.

Expecting Nelius to appear behind him, Pyron threw a punch in that direction, hitting a hazy afterimage. Remembering the axe, he looked skyward, only to see a lack of metal anywhere.

"What trickery is this?" Feeling a spark of energy to his left, he turned his attention to that direction, and saw something hurtling this way.

"Calamity Drive!" A bullet of energy hovering around his body, Nelius smashed a fist into Pyron's chin, sending the cosmic one upward. Summoning as much Star mana as he could hold into his frame, he shot upward at an angle, using his axe to slice through Pyron. Halting himself in midair, he quickly turned around and shot upward again, cleaving through the cosmic being three, four, five, six, seven, eight times in a row.

"How, how is it that a mere dark one has driven me to this!" Pyron was trapped inside a bubble of Star energy, an end effect of the Calamity Drive. "I am a god, I am INVINCIBLE!"

Bringing the weapon over his head, Nelius swung it downward, creating a beam of purple energy that hovered in front of him. A second, horizontal beam joined it soon enough, creating a cross of energy.

"Pyron, you are, without a doubt, an incredible being, but your arrogance was your own undoing, for even the gods wither and fade away. Nothing in this universe is without weakness. Dimensional Cross!" The cross-shaped beams of Star mana slammed down on the cosmic being; the vertical beam first, nearly slicing Pyron in half; it was the horizontal beam that finally did the alien tyrant in, causing his energy to collapse in upon itself, like the burnt out star reaching the end of its tether. Of course, when drawn in, there is only one direction to go: outward; the final vestiges of Pyron's energy did just this, coating Nelius in an explosive "layer" of 200 million years of attained, evolutionized cosmic power.

**MAKAI! **

Well, this concludes the Vampire Hunter Arc of this story. Next chapter kicks off the Vampire Savior Arc of this story.

Until Next Chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	9. 9 Years later

My Calling: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Separates Paragraphs

Chapter 9: 9 years later…

It seemed that the world of humans was finally getting back to a state of normalcy, following the defeat of the Alien Tyrant Pyron nine years earlier. With Pyron's defeat, the number of Darkstalker attacks began dwindling, but never nearly to the point that most people forgot about them.

The Demon World, on the other hand, was in an uproar. News was quickly spreading about Demitri Maximoff's return, and those who held personal vendettas against the vampire were quick to take up arms. The fatal blow that silenced many of the demons, though, was the fact that Morrigan, the current ruler of the dominant Aensland Family House, was fully supporting Demitri. Never before in Demon World History had two rival houses come together.

For many certain people in both worlds, nobody could've imagined what would transpire next…

**MAKAI!**

"All right, fire."

The sound of gunshots rang out, followed by the sounds of metal clashing on metal. Not too soon afterwards, the sound of high caliber rifles went off, immediately followed by the explosion of grenades.

"Test phase one is complete. Get the targets set for round two."

With a click, a young man in his mid-twenties flicked a small switch on a pair of gloves before handing them over to a middle-aged man, who promptly placed them on a mounted crash-test dummy.

"Phase two is ready to begin, clear the area." Once the area was clear, the command was given. "Fire." Rocket Launchers, high-focus laser beams, and artillery cannons fired off, all hitting a technological shield. Explosions, laser sounds and heavy metal collided into one ear-bleedingly loud sound. As the dust cleared, it was revealed that the dummy was still standing upright, without a single scratch on its body, and the gloves were radiating a force field that stopped the attacks cold.

"Defensive testing complete. Switching on test machines for combat testing."

Once again, the young man at the site took the gloves and slid them on his hands, then waited for the machines to activate.

"Machines active. Executing program 3."

All at once, the robots charged the young man, who simply raised his hands and held the palms outward toward them. The machines froze in place, being held back by a blue-green rectangular field that was emitting several watts of voltage, more than enough to freeze the robots' systems. With these ones down for the count, another set activated and charged. This time, the index fingers on each hand were held out. The left hand's finger shot out an icy beam that froze several of the bots in their places. As a third set moved in, the right hand's index finger generated a 15-inch blade of electrical energy, which was used to cut down the machines. The fourth set of test robots acted like gunfighters, attacking from a distance. While one of the gloved hands was used to block the incoming volley of bullets, the other hand's palm was held outward, and from the center of the hand shot out a pair of plasmatic spheres, which promptly caught up to the group and exploded, heavily damaging the machines.

"Thank you, Mr. Raoul. That will be all for today." The machines were quickly swept up as the young man exited the test facility, only to meet with one of the scientists. "We've gotten rather remarkable results from these pieces you've brought us. It's a shame we can't find a complete model."

"Considering what happened all those years ago, it's not surprising." Following the end of Pyron, the Huitzil robots went into a dormant state, retreating to an unknown location. Only the parts of the decimated machines remained intact, and several pieces were brought back for testing. Of them, the hand units were most valuable.

"With a little more testing, we should be able to figure out the full extent of these units."

"Right. Same time next month, then?"

"Correct. Take it easy, Mr. Raoul."

With that, the one called Mr. Raoul left the facility. He managed to get a good distance away before closing his eyes and shaking his head, causing his hair color to change from a light brown to a much darker color with red streaks. As he opened his eyes, they changed from a dark color to their standard orange. With a grin on his face, Nelius took a look at his new prize: a pair of nicely upgraded gauntlets, courtesy of a few Huitzil parts and human ingenuity.

'I suppose this is the reason of how humans continue to live.' He knew that his wings would protect him in certain situations, but it didn't hurt to have a secondary form of defense.

_All souls, return unto one… _

'The hell was that?' Nelius looked around, trying to find the source of that voice. 'Maybe I've been hanging around humans too long if I'm starting to hear weird voices.'

"That would be a wrong assumption." Thoroughly alerted, Nelius spun around to see a young woman dressed in a red coat to fend off the chilly autumn air. Her violet eyes were fixated on him. "You aren't the only one who heard that."

"I guess it's no mere coincidence then."

_All souls, return unto one… _

"I believe that proves it. Something's at work here."

"The big question here is, what is it?"

_Worthy souls rejoice… and join with me… _

A small flash of light, and the world seemed to waver around the two.

"The hell is going on! Hey, do you know what's..." Nelius turned around to see that his companion had gone missing. "This is some strange shit!" The world seemed to melt down to the ground, and he felt like he was being flung through another dimensional rift. When said trip finally ended, the first thing Nelius had noticed was, after a long sense of disorientation…

"The air smells different here. It's close to the demon world, but there's something off about this place." The second thing he noticed was that he seemed to be in the middle of a forest or some kind of jungle. There was an abundance of trees, but the most of them appeared to be wilting, almost malnourished. Some of the plant life leaned more toward jungle environments, and one of them was snacking on a reptile…

"Wait, what?" Seriously, one of the plants had teeth and was lazily chewing on a reptilian creature that had wandered too close. A second plant of the same ilk began chewing on the reptile's tail. A Venus Flytrap this isn't. He'd have made a snide remark, but a droning sound filled the air.

Looking skyward, Nelius saw what amounted to a cloud, no, a maelstrom of bees the size of footballs blotting out whatever source of visible light was available. With what sounded much like an excited buzz, the horde of stinging insects made a dive for the demon. Holding his palms outward, a sheet of electricity radiated outward from both of his palms, shocking and frying many of the bees. Deciding on a pincer tactic, the bees split into three groups, each attacking from the sides and behind.

"A pincer, huh? Time to test something." He felt his body starting to get hot as the bees closed in, ready to begin a stinging assault. In a fast flash of light, a pillar of cosmic fire rose from beneath Nelius' feet, causing many of the bees to fry, warning the others to stay away. Finding themselves outmatched, they had no choice but to fall back, for the moment. As the fire died down, wisps of smoke emanated from all over his body, and his breathing was a bit heavy. That's what he gets for not testing out his newfound powers, or actually fighting, for nine whole years. Getting to his feet, he heard the droning sound again, only, it sounded a hell of a lot louder, and much deeper this time.

This time, instead of a cloud of bees filling the sky, it was something akin to a mobile hornet's nest. The hexagonal openings dotting the nest were easily large enough to allow several human-sized objects to flow in and out, and speaking of which, something was exiting the nest.

**MAKAI! **

Yeah, it's fairly short and another cliffhanger. I haven't been feeling like myself lately, so you'll have to excuse me on this.

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	10. This Realm

My Calling: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Separates Paragraphs

Chapter 10: This realm…

The approaching figure, though humanoid in size, looked more akin to an actual… bee-person, if there actually was one. From the figure of said character, mostly its chest, you could tell it was female (at least by humanoid standards), but had the abdomen and wings of a bee, right down to the dangerous stinger on her backside. Her head hung downward, her "gaze" toward the ground, as she took note of this attacker in her grounds.

"A powerful soul…" Something that could be considered a tongue ran along the edges of her lips. "I wonder how you taste." Without warning, she sped toward him, her arm extending into a limb similar to a bee's, except the tips of her arm looked painfully sharp.

"Whoa!" Nelius used an arm to deflect the blow, and had to sidestep a knee to the gut, though it more accurately would've been a spike _through_ the gut. Raising her hands, two bees flew over and deposited a sticky substance similar to human world raw honey, and she expanded it into a bubble of honey, which she hurled at him. Jumping over the sphere, he saw it explode into a sticky mess of goo on one of the trees.

Hearing something whistling at high speeds toward him, Nelius turned his attention to his opponent only to receive a gigantic launched bee stinger to the gut, which sent him sailing through the trees until he wound up impaled.

"Agh, damn it!" Using one hand to brace himself against the tree, he used his other hand to remove the stinger and discard it. "I've become a bit too sloppy over the years." Placing one hand to his damaged abdomen, he feels his own blood run over his bare hands, and remembers the feeling. Knowing it's time to fight again, his wings, now with tips of energy flowing along them, extend from underneath his clothes, and his clothing shifts into a more battle appropriate attire, one that allows for more freedom of movement. "Looks like it's that time again."

He dropped to the ground, and the fight was on. She sped toward him, intending to impale him on her knee-stinger, but he had other plans. As she kicked out toward his head, he ducked beneath her attack, jammed his left foot into her solar plexus, lifted her up and slammed her to the ground.

Getting to her feet, the bee woman shook her head in an attempt to clear her head. Forcing her hands out in front of her, she morphed her hands into a beehive, sending out a small swarm of bees. In response, Nelius pulled out the old gun he found on Brad's ship long ago, and fired off five shots, each one hitting and disabling one of the bees. Putting the weapon away, he saw her diving toward him, stinger first. Cracking his knuckles, he caught her by the stinger, and used his leverage to swing her into one of the trees, causing it to splinter.

"Damn, you're a persistent one." He couldn't help but notice as she got to her feet again. "What does it take to keep you down—what the!" Sparing a glance behind himself, he ducked to avoid a spirit projectile that hit the bee woman and forcefully dragged her into a shaded area of the soul forest. The sounds of slashing and hacking became apparent, and the killer withdrew from the shade.

"So, you still live, demon child!" Crimson armor and a blood-soaked katana shone in the now fading light. The torso of the armor had a demon's face.

"How in the hell! Bishamon? I thought I killed you!" The armor couldn't help but laugh.

"Kill me? I am tied to the evil in the hearts of humanity. I can never die!" The armor tossed the nearly dead bee woman away, obviously done with her. "You, on the other hand, are perfectly able to die and feed my blade. Allow me to demonstrate!" Bishamon dashed forward, his katana poised to cleave Nelius in two.

"I think not!" Grabbing his axe, Nelius deflected the blow, and began matching the armor move for move. Where the katana would try to strike, the axe would follow and deflect the blow. On and on, this continued neither one willing to give up. Without warning, the armor's "mouth" opened up, revealing a spirit hand that grabbed Nelius and began squeezing him.

"See? I am full of tricks." Bishamon taunted.

"Hehe. I see, but so am I!" One of his wings formed into a blunted fist that shot forward, knocking the helmet off the armor and Bishamon off-balance, causing the armor spirit to release his grip on Nelius. "Shit, how much more powerful did he get?" Trying to catch his breath, he knew that he had to end this fight pretty quickly, or else things would turn ugly. Tightening his grip on his weapon, Nelius shot forward and used the force to knock the armor upward. Charging up some reserved Star mana, he jumped at an angle, using his axe to slice the armor, then executed a mid-air stop and repeated the process of slicing the armor with his axe; five, six, seven, eight times he slashed before jumping up a bit higher and knocking the demonic suit to the ground (Calamity Drive).

Slamming into the ground, Bishamon found his armor once again cracked in several places.

"Damn it!" He swore loudly as he forced himself to his feet. The cracks in his armor were easily pronounced. "Where does your strength come from? How do you fight against these odds?" Nelius was silent. "Tell me!"

"That is a question you shall never get the answer to, Bishamon." Standing a small way away was a man of possible Japanese descent. He was dressed in blue and white robes, and carried a staff with weighted rings interlocked onto one large ring. "I have finally found you."

"Oboro! You dared to follow me into this realm, you powerless fool!" Bishamon positioned his blade, Kien, ready for the kill. "Now, it will end!"

"You may be right, you may be wrong." Oboro began chanting in his native tongue, causing the armor to lock up again.

"No, you fool! You cannot-" With a final groan, the armor's eyes lost their glow, and clattered to the ground. Nelius hesitantly approached the pile of armor.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was Hannya, the cursed armor and Kien, the blade that drinks blood." Oboro cautiously handled Kien's sheath, attaching it to his hip. "I first saw this armor in an antique shop, but it had possessed my mind, causing me to assault the storeowner and take the armor for my own. I was just one among the many who fell prey to its powers." He then lifted Kien and sheathed it. "Despite my wife's begging, I donned the armor, and my ruthless slaughtering of humanity began. Over the countless years, humans and dark ones alike fell to this cursed sword, their blood and souls fueling my cursed existence." He turned toward a different direction. "And yet, even though it is sealed now, as long as evil exists in the hearts of humans and dark ones, this dreadful power will always return in the form of a stronger, crueler Hannya."

"Where are you off to, then?"

"Before I can return to my home, and to Orin, I have one final task at hand, one I promised so long ago. There was a man who helped to free me from the armor's bonds, and wherever he went, a young girl would follow." Only one man fit that description in Nelius' mind. "I sensed the man's heart was filled with determination and self-sacrifice, but his mind and heart have become darkened, and he is set upon a path that may lead to his own self-destruction. I know she is searching for him, knowing of the dangers of seeking him out…"

"Is he that far gone now?" Nelius knew.

"That is something I do not know, that is why I must see it with my own eyes." As he walked off, Oboro offered his last piece of advice. "I know you have your own goals, but never lose sight of them. Sometimes, it may be necessary to remember what you are truly after."

"What I'm… truly after?" Nearly ten years ago, he had the idea to defeat the Overlord he formerly worked for, but now, he couldn't help but question himself. "Maybe it's the same case on both their parts? No, I can't think about that now." He shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts. "First, I need to figure out where the hell I am, and if I can leave." Noticing that both the hive and Oboro were gone, he blanched. "If I can find my way out of this strange realm." Almost at once, reality shifted around him once again. "Aw, shit! I spoke too soon!" The realm warped and twisted around, dumping Nelius at what appeared to be some sort of funky train. It had an eyeball on the front, some kind of mouth on the side, and a skeletal figure as the conductor.

'What kind of train is this?' Approaching it carefully, he stepped into one of the cars. 'Where does it lead to?'

"You… you!"

"Me?" Nelius spun around. "P-Pyron?! How the crap—I thought I killed you as well!"

"I… will never die. I am the universe incarnate!"

**MAKAI! **

End of this chapter.

Damn, this really makes me wish Capcom had given a license to release a Vampire Savior OVA, then I wouldn't feel so lost writing this.

Until next chapter,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


	11. Final Chapter

Nelius Saga: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

**MAKAI!** Separates Paragraphs

Final Chapter: Approaching the End of the Majigen

Nelius was hurled through the air, crashing into the side of the engine car. His rematch against the cosmic tyrant wasn't going so well.

"Agh, damn it. I killed him; how'd he become so much stronger?" The demon got to his feet, only to dodge a Sol Smasher fireball. Pyron casually walked up.

"Hm? Something is amiss. How is it that the one I fell to scantly 9 years ago can barely muster a fight now?" Pyron gave a malicious grin. "Perhaps the powers of the universe were too much for a body like yours to handle. Allow me to rectify that!" A larger, more powerful Sol Smasher was launched from the cosmic being's fingertips, and crashed right where Nelius had once been.

"If I go all out, this train'll blow sky high." He backflipped into the air and landed on one of the other cars, avoiding a Cosmic Disrupter attack. "But I can't just stand here and let him kill me." Looking downward, Nelius saw something jutting out from Pyron's feet, something that shouldn't be there, given his cosmic nature.

"What are you focusing on? I'm right here!" Pyron jumped up and dove down toward Nelius, spikes of energy ready to impale him. The alien tyrant collided with the top of the car, scattering debris everywhere. Giving no pause, he whipped his body into a tornado, ready to crash into Nelius.

'For a second, I could've sworn I saw… there!' Drawing his axe out, he waited for the opportune moment. 'NOW!' Nelius tossed the axe behind himself, and it began spinning, generating several mana clones of itself, which launched forward, seemingly flying around Pyron instead of through him.

"That was it? What a worthless gesture." Pyron's body, however, didn't agree with this statement.

"Look closer." Strings, only mere molecules wide, began snapping, having been sliced apart by the mana axes. Pyron's shell of a body fell to the ground and dissipated, revealing a marionette, if one could call it that, as its puppetmaster. "I had the feeling someone was pulling some strings." Yes, pun intended. The wooden demon fixated its soulless gaze on Nelius.

"Rather impressive, seeing my strings." For being a genderless puppet, it had a feminine tone to its voice. "I want to see how you act under my control." It shot its hands out, releasing several strings that twisted around like snakes, ready to attach to Nelius and place him under control.

"Not happening," He commanded his real axe to fly forward, severing an arm from the marionette. "I was already someone's servant once before, and it ain't happening again!" He ran forward and delivered an uppercut that sent it flying straight upward. He jumped up as high as the upper atmosphere of the demon realm, and followed through with one hell of a punch that sent the Marionette flying around the demon universe (Rising Dragon). It skidded to a grinding halt, having been broken into charred pieces from the reentry; Nelius landed a moment later.

"Not bad, demon…" Marionette turned its head toward him. "But, the master… will recreate it all, no matter your actions…" It managed the strength to limp over to the edge of the still-moving train. "Master Dohma, I… have failed." It fell over the edge, and down into oblivion.

**MAKAI! **

"So, she failed after all." A shadowy figure could be seen peering through a Dimensional Window. "Master Dohma, neither Q-Bee nor Marionette had the power to stop him."

"All the better to fuel my goal." Standing before a set of doubledoors was a demon in a thick, dark blue suit. His wings looked more like scythes, and his red eyes were fixated on the doors. "A soul like his may be necessary to accelerate the process."

"Shall I invite him in, then?"

"Would you kindly?"

"As you wish." The Shadow prepared to leave, but hesitated. "One last thing. The human's savior is in this realm."

"No doubt searching for the darkhunter. This could be used to my advantage." A hand went to his chin. "All too good of a coincidence. To be able to rid myself of the human savior and her little 'Hero'." A wicked smile graced his countenance. "Can I entrust you to take care of the boy?"

"Of course. I already have a new shell prepared."

"Oh yes, the human with the dark heart. She does make an excellent conduit for your powers, but don't let it go to your head. He is not a demon of this realm."

"Common knowledge, especially with those techniques."

**MAKAI! **

"Last stop, kekeke." The skeletal conductor announced, signaling the end of the line. Nelius was the only one left on the train, so he disembarked. "Gah, business is worse and worse each day." The train began running in reverse, retracing its steps.

Finding himself standing on a floating platform in what amounted to be a nexus between dimensions, Nelius could see what looked like the human world solar system, but a blood-red planet stood out, as there was another planet that appeared to be leeching off of it.

"If this is Makai…" He looked from the planet of Makai to the connected planet, "Then this must be where I am. Still, what realm is this?" Something that sounded like fighting exploded next to him, nearly causing him to fall off the tiny platform. "What the hell was that?" A dimension gate began twisting open, leading to another part of the Majigen. Jumping through the gate, he landed at what looked like…a womb. And right in the middle of it was the biggest demon baby he'd ever seen. "Creepy." The sound of something hurtling through the air caught his attention, and he turned his head to see a familiar looking blade. The blade had designs similar to a face, but it now looked tortured and disfigured. There was only one person Nelius knew that had that sort of blade, but Oboro's words came to mind. He watched the blade return to its owner, who had also undergone his own changes. He was wearing attire that looked suspiciously like Demitri's own wear, just colored crimson, and his hair, once combed back, now hung wildly.

His opponent, holding what appeared to be a scythe in his hand, was dressed in a dark blue, full body suit. His wings took on the appearance of scythes, and his red eyes were fixated on the former darkhunter.

"I must thank you for coming here." Weapons clashed as the former Vampire Hunter, Donovan, began attacking the Majigen's ruler. "Your presence here shall attract my real target."

"Real target?" Donovan had been distracted, and Jedah used this to his advantage. A pool of blood appeared below the former darkhunter's feet, and several liquid hands shot up from below and dragged him into the ground.

"Yes, I need her. My work will not be undone by a human."

Nelius went to go assist Donovan, but a hail of stray bullets and several rockets stopped him. Glancing in the direction the shots came from, he saw what appeared to be a cosplayer of Little Red Riding Hood, except that most wouldn't carry around a basket that shot rockets and carried Uzi machine guns! Her eyes were hidden beneath her hood, but he could see the pure maliciousness behind them.

"Look, Harry." An evil smile accompanied her sugarcoated voice. "It's our little guest. Let's welcome him properly!" The little Labrador puppy growled, changing into a demonic monstrosity. "Sic him!" It darted for Nelius, aiming for his neck.

"Whoa!" He held the dog by its muzzle, keeping its jaws from clamping down around his neck. Gunshots rang out, as the girl fired her Uzi, sending several bullets into his upper arm, laughing with a sadistic glee. "Agh! If I continue to deal with this mutt, that red bitch will keep shooting. I go after her, and this fleabag will tear into me." He needed to get her firearms away from her, and he had one solution. Continuing to endure a hailfire of Uzi bullets, he used his injured arm to hold the mutated dog's jaw up, while using his good arm to reach around and pull out his old gun. Dodging around several shots aimed for his head, Nelius aimed his firearm over his injured shoulder and pulled the trigger. A mana bullet found its mark, embedding itself in the girl's kneecap, throwing her off balance. He squeezed off a second and third shot, knocking her Uzi and basket out of her hand. "Now for you!" Placing his gun away, he brought his fist up and socked the dog across the side of its jaw, sending it tumbling. He furiously dug into his injured shoulder, using his fingers to dig out and remove the bullets. The chunks of lead clattered to the ground, dripping in blood.

"Damn! Is there nothing that can stop him?!" From the girl's body, an inky black pool slithered away, forming into a shadow being. "That human body is worthless against a demon. I need another body. He will have to do." It melted into the ground.

Donovan flipped upward, summoning several spiritual swords to attack Jedah. In response, his wings grew more bladelike protrusions and blocked the projectiles, only to open up and receive an electrified bodycheck from a demonic Donovan, who transformed back into a humanoid form.

"Wait, Donovan's barely scratching him." Jedah's power just seemed to keep growing, regardless of the damage Donovan inflicted. "Something fueling him, but what?" As the battle raged on, he looked all over, searching for an answer. "Aha! That has to be it!" Sneaking around the battleground, Nelius climbed up the wall of the womb-like structure, hanging near the umbilical cord supplying the demonic unborn with hundreds upon thousands of souls. "That must've been what he meant, 'All souls returning to one'." He reached for his back, pulling out his axe. "I'd be dong us all a favor."

Wait. 

'Huh. What the..' Where'd this voice come from?

That's no ordinary demon.

'No shit.'

Not that, it's power. It's the only thing holding this realm together.

'So, let's axe this thing.' Nelius raised his axe, ready to slam it down.

Hold it! If that thing goes down, so do we! 

'We?'

'NOW!' The shadow rose up from a crevasse in the fleshy wall, aiming for Nelius. "What I cannot kill, I will simply take!"

You have a guest! 

"You again!" He leapt from his spot on the wall and landed on the umbilical. "You don't give up, do you?"

"You're a smart one, eh? I like this form master Dohma gave me. Fluid, quick, and able to slip into anywhere and anyone I wish. Compared to my other associate, there's no real strings attached."

"A body snatcher, huh? I know about your powers… and your real weakness."

"Hm. You bluff, otherworld demon."

"Do I?" A cocky grim graced his face. "By all means, go ahead and try."

"Gladly!" The shadow raced toward Nelius, osmosing into the demon's body, and almost immediately took control. "Ah, this body is amazing! Such potential, such power, Master Dohma will—what!" The shadow felt itself acting up. "NO! I cannot lose control!"

"See, there's your weakness." Nelius' voice came through. "You can take a body, but only if no soul exists within it." Casting a hand out, the shadow was forced out, but was still attached to his hand. "For a shadow, you're not as tough as advertised, huh?" Within his other hand, a potent orb of mana formed. "Goodbye, little shadow." The ball was launched, and as soon as it hit its target, it disintegrated the creature.

Think that was a bit much? 

'Maybe, but we have a bigger problem to worry about. Donovan won't… where'd he go?' Donovan was gone, and even Jedah looked pissed off that his plan had backfired.

He's seen us. Get ready. 

'I've got an idea.' Watching as Jedah drew closer, he waited. 'Closer, closer…' The scythe blade was thrown. He jumped, watching as the blade sank into the umbilical, slicing it open. Realizing his mistake, Jedah pulled the blade from the cord, but it was too late; the damage had been done. The Dark Messiah's fury turned to something resembling a pitched fever of insanity, as he went on a crazy offensive. Having no time to withdraw his axe, Nelius was forced to dodge and block the scythe attacks as necessary, and nearly got caught by a liquid hand that rose up and tried to grab him.

An ear-piercing shriek filled the room, causing both combatants to stop.

"It's awake, the Shinitai is awake, but it's not at full power." Jedah and Nelius could do nothing but stare as the giant unborn opened its eyes and shrieked once more. Sparks of electricity raced up and down the walls as the realm began to quiver. "It would mean… the doors will be…"

Shit! This realm is about to blow! Not two seconds later, a blinding flash filled the area. Nelius! Nelius! Look at that! 

"Hgn, I can't see a damn thing." The light blinded Nelius, but his eyes soon adjusted. "What the shit?!" All around, the world shifted and warped. "Where's Jedah?"

Over there, I feel his power fluctuating. He's trying to merge with what is left of the Shinitai so his plans can continue.

'Just who are you?'

Never mind that. We appear to be in the rift between dimensions. 

Nelius looked around, seeing the remains of the Shinitai floating around in the space, and Jedah trying to merge with the remains. Grabbing his axe, he flew over, to try and stop him. The remains began glowing as Jedah placed his hand onto the head of the demon, right over the third eye in the middle of the brain. "Crap!" Nelius morphed his wings into a set of jet engines and sped up.

"Now, all I have to do, is to destroy their realm, before their leader can fully awaken." Jedah was about to finish his merging. Nelius raised his axe above his head, made a quick charge of energy, and swung it down, splitting Jedah's head in two. The blade of his weapon was wedged into the demon messiah's skull.

Now, Nelius had his heart in the right place, but his action was about to have one hell of a consequence. Jedah's body began to glow as the buildup of power from the merge began welling up. With too much of one power clashing with another, something had to give, and man did it give.

**MAKAI! **

The land of Veldime, a human world that had the misfortune of becoming home to an Overlord, and the curse he brought with him just a scant 450 years ago. Although the curse was lifted and the Overlord defeated, those who had been born under the curse still remained a demon. Despite this, human and demon relations improved, and it was rumored that even denizens of Celestia were going to visit, to improve their own relations with other human worlds.

The newly appointed Dimensional Gatekeeper was getting ready to start her first day on the job, when an enormous welling of energy forced open a new gate, and spat something out. It skidded into the ground, bounced three times, and crashed into the side of the RosenQueen Company Store, Veldime Branch.

**MAKAI! **

Finally, I can say this fic is over.

When I do decide to write up the third part to this, it will be back at the Disgaea section.

Until next story,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough


End file.
